• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Where does the expression “to bury the hatchet” come from and What does it mean?

Where does the expression “to bury the hatchet” come from and What does it mean?

March 28, 2020 by Karen Hill

The expression “to bury the hatchet” means to settle one’s differences and take up friendly relations.

We in America are accustomed to think of this as an Indian custom; that it was a literal action, after the cessation of hostilities against the whites or a neighboring tribe, with considerable ceremony to bury a war tomahawk.

I think, however, that the practice was merely attributed to the Indian, for I have not been able to find that there was any such ritual or saying among the Indians of North America.

However, a similar saying has been extant in English speech since the early fourteenth century, more than a century and a half before the discoveries of Columbus. It was, “to hang up the hatchet,” and it had the same meaning as the phrase that we attribute to the Indians.

The earliest record, according to Apperson, is in a political song of about 1327: “Hang up thyn hachet ant thi knyf.”

The substitution of “bury” for “hang” did not take place until the eighteenth century.

Related Facts

  • Where does the saying "to bury the hatchet" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the expression "till the cows come home" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the expression "to come out flat footed" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the expression "to come out at the little end of the horn" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the expression "come off your perch" come from and What does it mean?
  • What does the expression "to get one's come uppance" mean and Where does it come from?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where does the phrase “to cook one’s goose” come from and What does it mean?
Next Post: Where does the phrase “lock, stock, and barrel” come from and What does it mean? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy